Val Ferret

Courmayeur lies at the foot of the enormous Mont Blanc massif and is the oldest Alpine resort in Val d’Aosta. Ever since the 19th century it has been regarded as the capital of mountaineering and Alpine walking. The village is surrounded by numerous hamlets which retain the typical architectural features of traditional houses. From the hamlet of Entrèves you gain access to the Mont Blanc Tunnel (length 11.6 km), a spectacular feat of engineering, which crosses Mont Blanc. You then enter the Val Ferret, dominated by the Grandes Jorasses.

Places you go through on the route:
- Courmayeur (1,200 m)
- Mont Blanc Tunnel/Val Ferret junction 4.2 km (1,345 m)
- Planpincieux 6.7 km (1,580 m)
- Lavachey 10.9 km (1,630 m)
- Arnouva 14.8 km (1,765 m)

Once you reach Arp-Nouva by bus, cross the bridge over the stream and continue along the dirt road until you come to a path, which goes off to the right and is signposted TMB. After several inversions this trail leads to Tsa de Jean. Continue along the path to Pré-de-Bard, where you will find the Elena refuge. Continue along this path, which gains altitude and goes up to the pasture of Pré-de-Bar Damon. Just beyond the pasture, leave the route on the right which goes into the valley of La Combette and veer left towards Col Grand-Ferret.

The majority of the trail follows the balcony on the slopes of the Mont-de-la-Saxe, at around an altitude of 2000 m so it is an ideal route for panoramic views.

Follow the trail for the Bertone refuge as far as the mountain chalets in Leuchey Damon. Here you leave the path to the Bertone refuge and take the fairly flat left-hand path until you reach the mountain chalets of Arminaz Desot. On the other side of Arminaz, the path goes downhill slightly: at this point you abandon the main path going down to Lavachey and take a small footpath on your right which goes back up the mountain side and leads you to the mountain chalets of Malatra Desot and the Bonatti refuge. And then from Malatra continue on as far as the chalets in Arp-Nouva di meiten. From here you go down to the bottom of the valley and continue along the un-made road towards the Elena refuge.

From Courmayeur, continue along the paved road and go into Val Ferret. When you get to Lavachey, continue for a further 1 km and, just before crossing the Malatrà, you come to the start of route 42, which goes off to the right of the paved road. The itinerary goes up to the Bonatti refuge and the pastures of Malatrà Inferiore and Superiore. Just before the pasture of Malatrà Superiore, ignore the left-hand branch that goes up to Col Malatrà, and continue on the right, still on route 42, which stays on the left orographic bank of the stream and crosses the wide flat basin, before veering right and going up to Pas Entre-deux-Sauts (2520 m).
Turn right after crossing the ridge, to get to the summit.

Leave the car in Planpincieux, in the municipality of Courmayeur, then continue along the paved road walking alongside the Grandes Jorasses campsite. When you reach a chapel,cross the Dora of the Val Ferret and keep on the dirt track, which leads to Leuchey Désot. From here, continue along route 31 and you come to the pasture of Leuchey Damon. At a crossroad, take the AV1 route on the left, and go up to the alpine meadows before reaching the vast grassy ridge of Mont-de-la-Saxe. Now take route 42 on the left, which runs along the wide ridge, and leave route AV1, which soon leads to the Bertone refuge.

The departure point for this trail is the Bonatti refuge.
You can get to the refuge by taking Altavia 2 from Courmayeur, or go up route 28, which starts on the right side of the Val Ferret road after going past Lavachey (about 1 km after the houses, just before the Malatrà stream).
From the refuge go up the Malatrà valley on the orographic left bank of the stream, until you reach the pasture of Malatrà Inferiore and then the pasture of Malatrà Superiore. Shortly afterwards, cross a small bridge that takes you to the orographic right side and go up to Giué Superiore pasture, from where you cross a wide plateau alongside the stream, and then go up the hillside debris until you come to Col de Malatrà.

From Courmayeur, take the road that leads to the village of Villair Superiore, at the entrance to Val Sapin. From here, the road continues to climb then becomes a dirt road and crosses the Tsapy stream. The itinerary continues, initially along the paved road and sometimes along the path, until it reaches the start of the path on the left, which goes up the slope beneath Bertone refuge, which is covered in a thick wood of conifers. The refuge can be reached in about 2 hours, and from there the trail continues mainly over green meadows and reaches the pastures of Upper Leuchey, Lèche and, bathed by a stream, the pastures of lower Arminaz and Sécheron, from where Bonatti refuge is soon reached.

Day one
From Planpincieux, near the bars and restaurants, head towards the centre of the village following signs for the Boccalatte Refuge. After passing close to a small church, climb up alongside a pine forest. Beyond the forest, the trail heads down slightly to the right, passes a river and heads back up again. The route continues along a channel crossed over by another river that creates some small waterfalls. A little further on, continue along rocky terrain until you come to a steel stairway (about ten metres long), above which there is a stretch equipped with fixed rope. From here, carry on along the moraines of glaciers (here the actual path alternates with rocky stretches) and you will come to and pass a snowfield where you should turn left. This is where the most technical stretch begins, that is, the upward climb of a rocky spur where the refuge stands. In about twenty minutes over rocks equipped with fixed ropes, you will come to the Boccalatte Refuge terrace.

Day two
From the refuge, once passed a short rocky stretch (fixed ropes) you will come to the glacier between moraines and snowfields. Keeping to the left of the Rognon de la Bouteille, you will come to the base of the Reposoir rocks. Climb up the entire rocky spur until you come to the edge of a large frozen basin, known as the Couloir Whymper. Cross it towards the right more or less on flat ground as far as the base of the Rochers Whymper, that can easily be climbed thanks to a fixed rope. You then come to the grand Plateau under the serac at the summit. Cross it in its entirety as far as the right edge where the rocks start that head down towards Punta Walker. From here you can reach the peak’s snowy cap.
Descent: down the upward itinerary.

This itinerary requires experience of high mountains and it is recommended that you get a mountain guide to accompany you.

First day
From Arnouva, walk along the dirt road that rises from the valley to the hairpin where, on the left, a path climbs to the summit of the Tête de Ferret. The path enters a small valley and continues to the left to the base of a grassy ridge. Follow the path to a marked rise which, at the top, forces you to continue to the left. Cross a small waterway to the top of a second rise where the slope is gentler. Continue on the left, snow-covered at times, on the peaks under the Colle di Grapillon. The path climbs the moraine peaks towards the Mount Allobrogia ridge. Cross the two valleys and rocky ledges to the two camps that suddenly appear.

Second day
From the Fiorio / Dolent camps, cross the peaks scattered with rocks and snow to the Pré de Bar glacier with few crevasses. Continue on your right on the steeper peaks and leave the rocky ledge emerging from the glacier creating a fork, on your left.
Climb the right glacier fork, keeping to the center on the steep hump. After the hump, turn right to cross the crevasse that protects the entrance to the snow-covered gap on the south-east ridge of Mont Dolent. Climb the snow-covered ridge to the base of an instable rocky channel that leads to the beginning shoulder of the top ridge. Continue over the rocks and snow-covered ridges to the peak.
Descent: along the ascent route.

The route requires alpine climbing experience. Alpine guide assistance is recommended.

VAL FERRET AND VAL VENY, WHITE SPECTACLE
Just a few Km after Courmayeur you encounter Entrèves, characteristic village. If you think the landscape has been amazing until now, prepare yourself: From here on will leave you literally open-mouthed. Here we have two marvellous valleys, which more or less join to form a single immense shelf in the Mont Blanc group of mountains.

The peaks of the mountain range display themselves in all their majesty: The Grandes Jorasses, the Giant’s Tooth, Mont Maudit, the Aiguilles Blanches and Noires, Helbronner Peak, the Tré-Ia-Tète, Aiguilles des Glaciers, up to the 4,810 metres of the Mont Blanc peak. It seems like you can touch them, driving the two splendid roads that travel up through the valley.

But if you want to try a truly unforgettable experience, enjoy a breathtaking climb on Skyway Mont Blanc cable-car: A stop at the intermediate Pavillon station to discover the Saussurea Alpine Botanical Garden, the highest in Europe, and then on…up to the 3,466 metres t of Point Helbronner, magnificent terrace on the glaciers.

Here, considering the temperatures, motorcycling outfits will be particularly useful